Build a winding marble track of tubes, funnels, and bumpers. Experiment by building the track higher, making the turns steeper, or adding a loop-the-loop.
Ingenuity Lab Monthly Challenge: June - Marble Machines
Albany See map
Comments + Leave a Comment
Loading comments ...
Boards
All Boards »
Margaret Tong May 25, 2013 at 09:00 pm
don't we ALL have accents? People comment on my accent a lot and most of the people I know have…Read More American accents.
Jack Osborne May 25, 2013 at 08:42 pm
@Montymarket - nice attempt to twist the narrative here. As everyone on Patch and virtually every…Read More local resident seems to agree, urban gardening engaged in legally on property either owned by or provided willingly to gardeners is a perfectly fine idea. And trying to cast those who oppose OTF as "right wing" is either very funny, very ignorant, or both. Regardless, the concept that's really been proven is that the OTF folks clearly have taken the wrong approach, and would make far better use of their time working with organizations like Urban Adamah.
montymarket May 25, 2013 at 05:35 pm
Well, now. There goes the meme up in smoke (see the burning bush) that it's a waste of time to…Read More preserve a small plot of land to raise food in an urban environment. A couple of acres of veggies apparently is worth the effort! Many on the right (opposing the East Bay know-it-all progressive upstarts) regularly challenge, on these fine Patch comments, that the feasibility of an urban farm in this area of the East Bay is impossible: the soil is no good, the amount produced is too miniscule, not enough mouths will be fed, the concept is outlandish (!), and urban farmers are moonbeam unicorn gassy hippies! Well, here's two acres just around the corner that gives credence to a lot that the OTFers are saying. There are folks of equal mind who agree! This is suitable space for urban farming, educational activities, saving the planet one little step at a time. Consider the concept proven.
Jack Osborne May 23, 2013 at 05:52 pm
@Ross - And, lo, the rainbow-farting invisible unicorns would be displaced from this, the last…Read More "Class Sparkle" soil in the entire East Bay!
montymarket May 25, 2013 at 08:33 pm
First, the land that the OTFers want to maintain as farmland is presently used for agricultural…Read More research (Monsanto or BP funded?) over by the elementary school. Instead of interrupting the ongoing research projects, the OTFers moved their demonstration to Monroe (the President who came up with the doctrine that this hemisphere belonged solely to the US) St. Now the right, in these venerable comments, is mocking the OTFers for respecting the researchers and planting in the old barracks land instead. Sheesh. What's a concerned citizen to do? They were applauded for not interrupting the research, but as a consequence thereof, they are now vilified for planting in an abandoned weed filled field instead. The Tea Party right is famous for this ploy: moving the goal posts, as it were. In the US Congress the right complains about the Democratic Senate not passing a budget, then when they do pass a budget, the right blocks going to conference without preconditions. Same here. Stop interrupting valuable research, they say. But when they move over to the hard scrabble abandoned fields, it's now: that soil is crap, so all your plans are doomed. True that Albany is the lead agency to review the project, but apparently times have changed and other interested parties were not heard. The Albany Rollers & Strollers filed a lawsuit and negotiated a compromise outside the formal process, now they are happy with the new result (and we can all agree that Mr Jordan has done his penance and should be forgiven). Apparently the OTFers feel they got short shrift. Now it's their turn to negotiate a compromise. What's wrong with that? It worked for the bicycle people -- with an excellent result, thank you very much. (BTW, Whole Foods didn't bail because of the OTFers alone.)
The goal of the OTFers is to preserve a portion of the total property for urban farming. That section may not be on Monroe but in a future phase and section of the development where the soil is excellent farm land.
Lisa Schneider May 23, 2013 at 12:08 am
The occupiers complain that the meanies won't let them temporarily plant stuff on the future…Read More mixed-use project site, on the other hand the occupiers threaten a permanent occupation. This linked occupier image reminds me of Game of Drones (as in critters that perform no meaningful work)
http://gallery.mailchimp.com/fef1cd615d86cfe1a43674873/images/ReOccupy_FARM_TOOLS.2.1f17376.jpg
Peggy McQuaid May 20, 2013 at 11:26 am
Congratulations, Carla. The article failed to mention what a great neighbor you are.
Robby Sun May 20, 2013 at 10:37 pm
@Dover: The parent birds didn't look like doves. They were the commonly seen dull-yellowish birds.…Read More Smaller than a pigeon but larger than a sparrow. Robins? I can't tell for sure.
We checked the abandoned nest. To my eyes, it was well built, and stably setup between grape branches. It didn't capsize. The dead baby birds were found at least 5 feet away from the ground right beneath the nest. Something must have got them out of the nest and killed them. We didn't look at the corpses in detail to decide the cause of death though.
Dover May 20, 2013 at 09:31 am
I agree with Ross. A predator would have eaten those yummy, tender, tasty baby birds.
It sounds…Read More more like a case of incompetent nest construction to me. Were they doves? Doves are well-known for their inability to build proper nests but there are others who struggle too. Instinct and ability do not always travel hand-in-hand.
Not much you can do about that, unfortunately. Some creatures are incompetent. Some people are incompetent. That's life.
Ralph Whize May 20, 2013 at 10:12 pm
Got thru to the City Inspector (twice) and he finally called the contractor, who (at the end of day…Read More 12 of trash build up) moved the debris pile away.
Albany Planning Commission meeting is 2nd and 4th Wednesdays at 7:30 pm and I'm hoping local homeowners will take time to address this and other CV issues.
Dover May 20, 2013 at 09:40 am
Hey! Cool! Now I know where to dump my unwanted items!
;-)
Seriously though, "the city"…Read More is not helpless, "the city" is lazy and sometimes you have to kick them in the ass to get them moving.
What have you tries thus far? I assume you have communicated with the CV owner or contractor. What else have you done?
Ann Farmer May 19, 2013 at 06:22 pm
This is not only an eyesore. This is a health hazard. The boards you see in the photo have nails…Read More sticking out. This area has become the trash heap for anyone walking by wanting to dispose of garbage. With bins overflowing, trash is blown down the street into residents' yards.
Jamie Jensen May 23, 2013 at 06:29 am
I intended to add: Now, if only UCB would treat its other land holdings, like the Gill Tract, with…Read More similar respect. Who wants another parking lot? Not me. Build "Senior Housing" at transit-friendly El Cerrito Plaza, not on the last patch of arable land left in the East Bay!
Jamie Jensen May 23, 2013 at 06:26 am
This Executive Summary, makes it sound OK. Better than another 1991 Fire, for sure:
To reduce the…Read More potential for these areas to support and spread wildfires, UCB proposes to eliminate eucalyptus, Monterey pine, and other non-native trees that promote the spread of wildfire. Oak and bay trees and other native vegetation present under the larger non-native trees would be preserved and encouraged to expand.
Caryl O'Keefe May 18, 2013 at 08:30 pm
Another example of more balanced reporting from Berkeleyside article:…Read More http://www.berkeleyside.com/2013/05/17/uc-berkeley-seeks-funds-to-cut-down-22000-non-native-trees/. Some of the comments are useful especially about glyphosphate. The author of the article even used his own name.
Mel Content May 19, 2013 at 12:01 pm
"If you are upset about how the rightwing has been attacking President Obama with lies and…Read More hyperbole"
Mel Content May 19, 2013 at 12:01 pm
"If you are upset about how the rightwing has been attacking President Obama with lies and…Read More hyperbole"